h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It's becoming increasingly more difficult to find food items that aren't whole (ironic, considering the wholefood revolution of recent decades), and I'm getting damn tired of it

One of the two places I go to get most of my food has their own brand of organic milk, but I can't remember the last time I saw half-gallons of whole milk. You can get organic 2%, organic fat-free, organic ultra fat-free , you can get lactose-free, and you can get organic whole milk in *gallon* containers, but it's been months and months since they had half-gallons of whole milk.

I was in there this morning looking not only for whole milk, but for buttermilk too. I only need a little to make some soda bread. Can I find a small container of buttermilk that isn't fat-reduced in some manner? Can I heck as like. The only one that hasn't had something removed is far too big for my needs. I could get a smaller, whole milk one, if I pay double for the organic stuff, which I wouldn't mind doing if I could afford it.

Fig Newmans. Newman's Own's version of the Fig Newton. What we call fig rolls where I come from. You can get low fat, you can get fat-free, you can get wheat/dairy-free. Can you get plain, unadulterated, nothing-taken-out Fig Newmans?

No

the horror, oh the horror. quite right too; I won't tollerate non of this half fat... low fat.... b********ised played about with, versions of 'real foo'.

I've gone continental though the last few nights; a whole pain au levan, then a whole ficelle, with meats... cheeses..... smoked fish.... and some salady bits... real food and... - cut. tear, bite, pull, eat... no nonsense and satisfying.

I ate a whole half pound camenbert for breakfast today. seriously. on a half pound of decent bread (not French/continental for some reason...)

The last time I bought anything from Paul Newman, it was salsa and I only bought it because of all the salsa brands in the aisle, it seemed to have the ingredients I wanted. I had a sudden interest in making a salsa with cilantro but I'd never made salsa before so I went up and down the salsa aisle comparing ingredient lists to get an idea of what I'd need. I grabbed Newman's Own and went back to the produce aisles and got my ingredients, making large assumptions based on their order of appearance correlated to amount required.

I ended up making a damn fine salsa. (On the next batch I added just a bit of cumin which really improved an already excellent salsa.)
After I finished eating my batch, I opened the jar of Newman's Own....

It was horrid.


I know I'm dismissing a LOT of products based on one bad experience, but that's just the way I am. Oh well.

The words "new improved recipe" are ones that cause me concern when shopping, as they usually mean the product has been made cheaper, or just generally less good in some way...

Thing is, it's starting to become apparent that perhaps it isn't fat that's the problem, it's sugar, so all this low-fat/fat/free highly processed food is a waste of everyone's time and money.

Sugar and the "fats" we replaced proper fat with.

Yep.

All those years I was eating margarine thinking it was better for me that butter. Alton put me straight on that little piece of confabulation. I haven't bought marg since.

too damn right (and just about to go get half a baguette for supper... and smother it with butter....... and most likely some cheese... jarlsburg I think, for a change, tonight... ) - of course, if my diet doesn['t improve a wee bit soon... I think I'll make an appointment for down the coridor from chemo, at cardiology before I've even finished the fomer